Carlton's new president Mark LoGiudice has refused to apologise for his bold multimillion-dollar attempt to poach Hawthorn recruiting chief Graham Wright, conceding the Blues had fallen behind in recruiting and player development and needed to ''make some changes to our culture''.

LoGiudice added he did not see any need to open contract negotiations with coach Mick Malthouse until midway through 2015, but said he had Malthouse's support in prioritising the club's "under-resourced" development of players.

In a frank exchange with Fairfax Media on the eve of his ascension to the presidency on Monday, LoGiudice also revealed he had asked Carlton's outspoken gaming benefactor, Bruce Mathieson, to refrain from attacking the club through the media.

"To air your opinion through the media is not the ideal scenario," he said of Mathieson's recent attacks on key players such as Bryce Gibbs and off-field leaders Stephen Kernahan and Greg Swann. "I would prefer Bruce pick up the phone and ring me. I've told him that."

While outgoing president Kernahan had declared Malthouse the right person to rebuild Carlton's flagging on-field fortunes, LoGiudice would make no guarantees beyond 2015, but said: "Mick Malthouse is absolutely the right person to coach this football club and to lead this football club and lead the players to success.

"He is contracted until the end of next year ... I don't see the reason why you discuss contracts early, but if Mick wants to talk about things I am happy to sit down with him. The middle of next year I imagine would be the appropriate time."

Advertisement

With the Blues still searching for a new chief executive to replace Swann and attempting to placate disgruntled recruiting boss Shane Rogers, LoGiudice said he was confident Rogers would remain at the club and declared football boss Andrew McKay would remain whether or not he was successful in his bid to be CEO.

"I make absolutely no apologies for trying to make the Carlton Football Club better," LoGiudice said of his $2.5 million offer to Wright.

"We have no intentions of stopping in trying to make us the best football club with the best people.

"I understand there is no quick fix. The system doesn't allow for that, [but] we are a great club, one of the leaders of the AFL, and we need to go from being a good club which we are at the moment to an outstanding club. We are prepared to pay what the market demands.''

LoGiudice insisted he had backed off in his attempt to headhunt Wright once he realised Wright had a contract with Hawthorn. "It's very disappointing the way it was conveyed," he said. "I have spoken to Shane [Rogers] about this. The plan is not for Shane to leave but to work in a better resourced recruiting department.

"We need to improve the recruitment and the development of our players. I definitely think it's an area in which we've been under-resourced."

Of McKay, he added: "Andy McKay is a great leader of this football club and he will be staying at this football club."

Despite an internal push from some board members - including Ahmed Fahour - to remove Mathieson's four gaming venues from the club books, Carlton's new boss said that would not be part of his agenda. "They help us reduce debt and they help us invest in football," he said.

Defending his move to seek Mathieson's backing before contending the presidency, LoGiudice said: "This club has many stakeholders and I spoke to them all. Visy is another and Bruce is a life member of the football club and a major partner of the football club."

LoGiudice dismissed suggestions he was taking over a divided board and pointed to the fact that by the end of 2014 the Carlton directors would number 10 - down from 13 at the end of last season.

"That's all media hype," he said of the factionalism allegations. "The board unanimously voted me as president of the football club and I believe 10 is a manageable number."

LoGiudice said Kernahan and Swann had transformed a club that was on its knees, taking it from a bad club to a good club.

"Now we need to go from being good to outstanding. I have been involved in this club for a long time and I understand its history. I know what it's done, where it's been, where it is now and where it needs to be.

"Under 'Sticks' [Kernahan] and Swannie we've gone from 26,000 members to 46,000. We had no sponsors and now we have great sponsors. We've lifted our revenue from $25 million to $50 million and we've reduced our debt from $17 million to $5 million.

"I can't give you a date, but we need to achieve success on as well as off the field, and we need to develop that recruiting and development area.

"Stephen Kernahan is a passionate legend of this club, an icon of the club. I'm not a hall of fame legend so of course I ill have a different style. They are big shoes to fill, but I'm confident I can fill them."